Indian Premier League – Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Tait plans to terrorise Mumbai maestro Tendulkar

Australian firebrand Shaun Tait will be unleashed on the Indian Premier League for the very first time when the Rajasthan Royals clash with the Mumbai Indians in the second match of the tournament.

Bought in 2009 for $375,000, Tait withdrew due to injury but since then he has become one of Australia’s strike weapons in Twenty20 Internationals.

Indian Premier League Odds
Saturday, March 13, 4am EST (3pm Local Mumbai time)
Mumbai Indians –150
Rajasthan Royals +120

With toe-crushing yorkers and deliveries reaching the 100mph region, Tait has snared 15 wickets in his eight T20I at an average of 15.06 with an uncanny ability of dismissing at least one opener in his first spell.

How Rajasthan use him will be of interest as will Mumbai’s approach to will be openers Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuria.

New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum utilised the scoop shot against Tait’s full pitch deliveries in a recent T20I flicking him over the wicketkeeper for several sixes though Tendulkar and Jayasuria and more traditional players so I imagine they will try and use his speed and cleverly angled bats.

Mumbai’s $750,000 purchase Kieron Pollard and fellow West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will be absent thanks to national duties against Zimbabwe but Rajasthan too will be missing Australia’s Shane Watson who is on national duties in New Zealand which means pressure will already be on Proteas skipper Graeme Smith.

Smith’s anchor role at the top may be the most crucial aspect of their performance at the start of this tournament but Rajasthan have some depth in their batting, if a but untried.

Yusuf Pathan has relished his inclusion in the Indian team, his previous performances at the IPL cementing his spot in the national team, and last season he top scored for his team with 243 runs at an average of 20.25 in 13 matches. Smith’s returns were slightly leaner, his 212 runs at 19.27 paled in comparison to his 2008 tournament in which he smashed 441 runs in 11 matches at a blistering average of 49.

The difference last year was that Smith was playing in front of his home crowd and in 2008, with the tournament based in India and no South Africa, pressure on the captain was negligible and you could tell by his batting.

Damien Martyn, the former Australian top order batsman, will make his IPL debut, his inclusion a surprise to most in the cricketing circles because his age is on the wrong side of 38 and his style of play is more attuned to limited overs, where he averaged 40.80 over 208 matches at a strike rate of 77.73.

With just nine T20 matches over a career spanning more than a decade, Martyn appears to be over the hill however Rajasthan hardly would paid for a player that would offer nothing to the make-up.

There shouldn’t be any real shocks in this match with neither team really able to field a full-strength squad until the big name players make their return. That is not to say the action won’t be hot.

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